19 pages • 38 minutes read
The Disquieting Muses
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Literary Devices
Form and Meter
“The Disquieting Muses” is a semi-formal poetic form composed of seven eight-line stanzas for a total of 56 lines. It is written mostly in iambic tetrameter—eight syllables per line, with a stressed syllable following an unstressed syllable. There is some variation in the metrical stresses, particularly surrounding the word “Mother” (Line 1 and others), which draws the ear to the word. Other variations happen around “Mixie Blackshort” (Line 10) and several other instances to accommodate the story. While most lines run eight syllables, there are some that vary between seven and ten syllables.
The poem does not use a formal rhyme scheme but utilizes rhythm and some internal, near, or slant rhymes, such as “stead” and “heads” (Lines 5-6), “witches” and “stitched” (Lines 11, 16), “footed” and “stood” (Line 29), “balloon” and “million” (Line 43), and others. Often the fifth and seventh lines of each stanza will rhyme at the end (though this is not the case in every stanza); for example, “stead” and “head” (Lines 5, 7), “said” and “bed” (Lines 13, 15), “aside” and “cried” (Lines 37, 39).
The poem also combines a free verse, confessional quality with classical allusions and repeated words, giving the poem the feel of a grownup nursery rhyme. The choice of language and imagery gives the reader a sense of familiarity and relatability, but the shape, sounds, and rhythm of the poem retain that sense of otherness appropriate to the piece.
Allusion
This poem draws heavily on sources of mythology and folklore, in particular classic fairy tales. Sylvia Plath was known for her interest in these stories, and allusions to classic works of the fantastic and supernatural can be found in many of her poems. Here the poem opens with an indirect allusion that most readers will nevertheless recognize: “what illbred aunt / Or what disfigured and unsightly / Cousin did you so unwisely keep / Unasked to my christening” (Lines 1-4). This references the story of Sleeping Beauty, in which Briar Rose’s parents neglect one of the kingdom’s fairies in their invitation to their newborn daughter’s christening. The scorned fairy shows up anyway and curses Briar Rose to die by spindle when she comes of age. Here Plath compares the wicked fairy of the story to the faceless figures who gather around the speaker’s crib; the speaker wonders if their mother was somehow responsible, if they kept some figure away who took revenge on them, like the fairy from the story.
The fairy tale allusions continue throughout the poem in keywords like “gingerbread” (Line 12) and “godmothers” (Line 31). These words are most strongly associated with Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella, respectively, but they have become such a strong part of fairy tale vernacular that they bring to mind the iconography and pantheon of fairy tale culture as a whole. These deepen the nursery rhyme quality and coming-of-age theme of the poem.
The poem also uses mythological references, such as the chant referencing Thor in the third stanza. Thor is a god from the Norse pantheon strongly associated with thunder and lightning, hence the enchantment in his name. Although the muses of popular myth and the painting that inspired “The Disquieting Muses” are based in Greek mythology, the use of comparative myth supports the idea of a storytelling world, in which myths, legends, and original stories formed the speaker’s upbringing and gave them a feeling of a safe place. This is also referenced in an authorial allusion with “Mixie Blackshort the heroic bear” (Line 10), a reference to Plath’s own life. Mixie Blackshort was the name of Plath’s younger brother’s teddy bear, and their mother, Aurelia Plath, made up a series of bedtime stories about his adventures to tell young Sylvia and Warren. This illustrates a childhood in which both stories and family played an important role, and this real-life experience is echoed in the poem.
Repetition
Plath’s poem enhances its folkloric quality with several intentional uses of repetition—a common motif in classic fairy tales. The poem opens with “Mother, mother” (Line 1), creating a sense of rhythm right from the beginning of the story. The first stanza moves into the repetition of “nod / And nod and nod at foot and head” (Lines 6-7), creating a sense of both rhythm and suspense; the faceless figures take on a sinister, watchful quality, and the repetition of the word “nod” builds tension. In the second stanza, the poet uses repetition in the phrase “whose witches always, always” (Line 11), which emphasizes the strength of the mother in this moment and the child’s devotion.
In the third stanza, one of the most overt and powerful uses of repetition comes in the lines “‘Thor is angry: boom boom boom! / Thor is angry: we don't care!’” (Lines 22-23). The quotation marks used give the line a clarity and emphasis as a beloved childhood memory—a safe place and a family tradition. Unlike the meter of the rest of the poem, here nearly every syllable is emphasized; this creates a powerful contrast with the simplicity of the following line. In the fourth stanza, the poet uses repetition in “you cried and cried” (Line 31) in reference to the mother’s reaction to the speaker’s performance. This creates an interesting parallel with the earlier repetition of “always, always” (Line 11). One supports the relationship between the mother and the speaker, while the other witnesses it beginning to break apart. This pattern continues in the sixth stanza with “Never, never, found anywhere” (Line 45). Here the repetition shows us the arc of a relationship now irrevocably broken.
In the fifth stanza one of the most powerful uses of repetition happens in the line “I learned, I learned, I learned elsewhere” (Line 39). This shows the growing rupture in the speaker’s relationship with their mother. The repetition and the active verb show that the speaker has not been pushed away but made a conscious choice to seek guidance and validation away from their mother; the repetition enforces this choice. Finally, the last instance of intentional repetition happens almost at the end of the poem with “Mother, mother” (Line 55); this directly parallels the opening line and shows that although their relationship may be forever changed, their connection still holds power over the speaker.
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By Sylvia Plath
